TECHNOLOGY

Council to Unveil Industry-Friendly Jobs Plan

A panel of business leaders will urge Congress and the White House next week to launch an industry-friendly effort to spur innovation and create new jobs, including reforming immigration policies, easing regulations governing initial public offerings, and cutting capital-gains and corporate income taxes.

The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which includes a range of CEOs and other industry leaders, will submit the recommendations to the White House on Tuesday.

The recommendations for Congress include changing immigration policies to attract and retain high-skilled workers, making initial public offerings easier, and cutting taxes.

“Everybody recognizes that as much as ever, we need to focus on jobs and the economy,” Steve Case, a member of the Jobs Council and cofounder of AOL, said on a conference call with reporters on Friday.

Case said he is optimistic that if the recommendations are adopted, they can have a positive impact on the still-dismal jobs situation. Numbers released on Friday showed unemployment at a steady 9.1 percent.

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Despite the ongoing controversy over government assistance to the solar-energy startup Solyndra, the panel will call on President Obama to help expand access to capital and make government funding easier to obtain. The White House can also continue to modernize the patent system, and reduce red tape and unneeded regulations for businesses, the Jobs Council will recommend.

For its part, the private sector should seek to foster regional clusters of innovation-friendly areas; help entrepreneurs connect with investors; and expand programs to help entrepreneurs and new businesses.

"The Jobs Council believes a central goal of U.S. labor policy should include a targeted focus on unleashing a new wave of entrepreneurship nationwide, particularly the kind of entrepreneurship that leads to the creation of high-growth companies,” the council said in a statement